Systems and methods for situational awareness of current and future vehicle state

ABSTRACT

A system and method for displaying a current state and a future state of a vehicle on a display associated with the vehicle are provided. The method includes: receiving flight plan data for a selected flight plan and a plurality of legs associated with the selected flight plan from a source of flight plan data; determining, with a processor, a current state of the vehicle with respect to one of the plurality of legs based on sensor data; determining, with the processor, a current target state for the vehicle with respect to one of the plurality of legs based on the flight plan data; determining a divergence of the current state based on a difference between the current state and the current target state; and generating a user interface for display that illustrates the divergence of the current state with respect to the one of the plurality of legs.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to vehicles, such as aircraft,and more particularly relates to systems and methods for providingsituational awareness of a current and a future state of a vehicleduring an autopilot mode or during a designated optimal trajectory in anon-autopilot mode, by displaying the current and the future state ofthe vehicle on a display associated with the vehicle.

BACKGROUND

Certain vehicles, such as aircraft, can be operated in an autopilotmode, in which an autopilot system controls various systems of theaircraft to control the path of the aircraft under the supervision of apilot. In certain instances, the autopilot system may be used to directthe vertical trajectory of the aircraft, such as a vertical descent ofthe aircraft for landing. Generally, the vertical trajectory of anaircraft is defined as a function of altitude with associated speedconstraints along the aircraft lateral distance to the end point of theleg. While controlling the vertical descent of the aircraft, theautopilot system may encounter conditions where the aircraft may deviatefrom the planned vertical path due to varying wind conditions orincorrect energy management in descent or approach. Given the pilot'sgenerally high workload during descent and approach for landing, thepilot may not be able to easily discern the new path of the aircrafttaken by the autopilot system.

Accordingly, it is desirable to provide improved systems and methods forproviding situational awareness of the current and the future state of avehicle, such as an aircraft, during an autopilot mode, by displayingthe current and the future state on a display associated with thevehicle to enable the pilot to discern the current and future path ofthe vehicle. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristicsof the present invention will become apparent from the subsequentdetailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field andbackground.

SUMMARY

According to various embodiments, provided is a method for displaying acurrent state and a future state of a vehicle on a display associatedwith the vehicle. The method includes: receiving flight plan data for aselected flight plan and a plurality of legs associated with theselected flight plan from a source of flight plan data; determining,with a processor, a current state of the vehicle with respect to one ofthe plurality of legs of the selected flight plan based on sensor datagenerated by one or more sensors associated with the vehicle;determining, with the processor, a current target state for the vehiclewith respect to one of the plurality of legs of the selected flight planbased on the flight plan data; determining a divergence of the currentstate based on a difference between the current state and the currenttarget state; and generating a user interface for display on the displaythat illustrates the divergence of the current state with respect to theone of the plurality of legs of the selected flight plan.

Also provided according to various embodiments is a system that displaysa current state and a future state of a vehicle on a display associatedwith the vehicle. The system includes a source of a flight plan data fora selected flight plan and a plurality of legs associated with theselected flight plan. The system also includes a control module having aprocessor that: determines a current state of the vehicle with respectto one of the plurality of legs of the selected flight plan based onsensor data generated by one or more sensors associated with thevehicle; determines a current target state for the vehicle with respectto one of the plurality of legs of the selected flight plan based on theflight plan data; determines a divergence of the current state based ona difference between the current state and the current target state;determines at least one corrective action based on the determination ofthe divergence; and generates a user interface for display on thedisplay that illustrates the divergence of the current state withrespect to the one of the plurality of legs of the selected flight plan,and outputs a prompt on the user interface for the at least onecorrective action.

Further provided according to various embodiments is a method fordisplaying a current state and a future state of a vehicle on a displayassociated with the vehicle. The method includes: receiving flight plandata for a selected flight plan and one or more legs associated with theselected flight plan from a source of flight plan data, the one or morelegs including a current leg and at least one future leg; determining,with a processor, a current state of the vehicle with respect to thecurrent leg based on sensor data generated by one or more sensorsassociated with the vehicle; determining, with the processor, a currenttarget state for the vehicle with respect to the current leg based onthe flight plan data; determining, with the processor, a future state ofthe vehicle with respect to the at least one future leg based on thedetermined current state; determining, with the processor, a futuretarget state for the vehicle with respect to the at least one future legbased on the flight plan data; determining one of a convergence of thecurrent state based on the current state matching the current targetstate or a divergence of the current state based on a difference betweenthe current state and the current target state; determining one of aconvergence of the future state based on the future state matching thefuture target state or a divergence of the future state based on adifference between the future state and the future target state; andoutputting a user interface for display on the display that indicates:the convergence or divergence of the current state; and the convergenceor divergence of the future state.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The exemplary embodiments will hereinafter be described in conjunctionwith the following drawing figures, wherein like numerals denote likeelements, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a system for displaying a currentand future vehicle state on a display associated with a vehicle inaccordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 2A is a dataflow diagram illustrating a control system of thesystem of FIG. 1 in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 2B is a continuation of the dataflow diagram of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 3 is an illustration of one exemplary user interface, whichdisplays the current and future vehicle state, for display on thedisplay of the vehicle of FIG. 1 in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 4 is an illustration of another exemplary user interface, whichdisplays the current and future vehicle state, for display on thedisplay of the vehicle of FIG. 1 in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 5 is an illustration of another exemplary user interface, whichdisplays the current and future vehicle state, for display on thedisplay of the vehicle of FIG. 1 in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 6 is an illustration of another exemplary user interface, whichdisplays the current and future vehicle state, for display on thedisplay of the vehicle of FIG. 1 in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of the system ofFIG. 1 in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 8 is a continuation of the flowchart of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 9 is a continuation of the flowchart of FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and isnot intended to limit the application and uses. Furthermore, there is nointention to be bound by any expressed or implied theory presented inthe preceding technical field, background, brief summary or thefollowing detailed description. In addition, those skilled in the artwill appreciate that embodiments of the present disclosure may bepracticed in conjunction with any suitable vehicle, such as rotorcraft,automobiles, marine vessels, etc., and that the following descriptionregarding a fixed-wing aircraft is merely one exemplary embodiment fordisplaying the current and the future state of a vehicle on a display ofthe present disclosure. It should be noted that many alternative oradditional functional relationships or physical connections may bepresent in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As used herein, theterm module refers to any hardware, software, firmware, electroniccontrol component, processing logic, and/or processor device,individually or in any combination, including without limitation:application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, aprocessor (shared, dedicated, or group) and memory that executes one ormore software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit,and/or other suitable components that provide the describedfunctionality.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may be described herein in termsof functional and/or logical block components and various processingsteps. It should be appreciated that such block components may berealized by any number of hardware, software, and/or firmware componentsconfigured to perform the specified functions. For example, anembodiment of the present disclosure may employ various integratedcircuit components, e.g., memory elements, digital signal processingelements, logic elements, look-up tables, or the like, which may carryout a variety of functions under the control of one or moremicroprocessors or other control devices. In addition, those skilled inthe art will appreciate that embodiments of the present disclosure maybe practiced in conjunction with any number of systems, and that thedisplay system described herein is merely one exemplary embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

For the sake of brevity, conventional techniques related to signalprocessing, data transmission, signaling, control, and other functionalaspects of the systems (and the individual operating components of thesystems) may not be described in detail herein. Furthermore, theconnecting lines shown in the various figures contained herein areintended to represent example functional relationships and/or physicalcouplings between the various elements. It should be noted that manyalternative or additional functional relationships or physicalconnections may be present in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

With reference to FIG. 1, a mobile platform or vehicle 10 is shown. Inone example, the vehicle 10 comprises a fixed-wing aircraft; however,the vehicle 10 can comprise any vehicle, such as a rotorcraft, etc. Inthis example, the vehicle 10 includes a flight management system 12, oneor more sensors 14, a human-machine interface 16, one or more vehiclesystems 18 and a vehicle state display control module 20. The vehicle 10is also in communication with a remote processing system 22. As will bediscussed herein, the vehicle state display control module 20 receivesinput from the flight management system 12, the one or more sensors 14and the remote processing system 22, and outputs a current and futurestate for the vehicle 10 for display on the human-machine interface 16.Although the figures shown herein depict an example with certainarrangements of elements, additional intervening elements, devices,features, or components may be present in an actual embodiment. Itshould also be understood that FIG. 1 is merely illustrative and may notbe drawn to scale. Moreover, while the following discussion refers tothe vehicle state display control module 20 in communication with anautopilot system associated with the vehicle 10, it will be understoodthat the present disclosure is not so limited. In this regard, thevehicle state display control module 20 can be used to represent adesired vertical trajectory and associated revisions or corrections fora safe descent and approach in a non-autopilot mode. As used herein a“current state” of the vehicle 10 refers to a current path, currentspeed and/or current pitch angle of the vehicle 10 relative to a flightplan for the vehicle 10; a “future state” of the vehicle 10 refers to afuture path, future speed and/or future pitch angle of the vehicle 10relative to the flight plan; a “current target state” of the vehicle 10refers to a current planned path, current planned speed and/or currentplanned pitch angle for the vehicle 10 relative to the flight plan forthe vehicle 10; and a “future target state” of the vehicle 10 refers toa future planned path, future planned speed and/or future planned pitchangle for the vehicle 10 relative to the flight plan for the vehicle 10.

The flight management system 12 manages a flight plan associated withthe vehicle 10 while in-flight. In various embodiments, the flightmanagement system 12 includes a flight control module 24 and acommunication component 26. The flight management system 12 is also incommunication with an autopilot system, which includes an autopilotcontrol module 28. The flight control module 24, the communicationcomponent 26 and the autopilot control module 28 are in communicationwith the one or more sensors 14, the human-machine interface 16, thevehicle systems 18 and the vehicle state display control module 20 overa suitable communication architecture or arrangement that facilitatesthe transfer of power, commands, data, etc. The flight control module 24receives a flight plan or flight plan data associated with the vehicle10, and manages the flight plan while in-flight. In one example, theflight control module 24 receives the flight plan data from thecommunication component 26 and stores the flight plan data in a flightplan datastore 30 onboard the vehicle 10. The flight control module 24can also be responsive to input received via the human-machine interface16 to modify the flight plan, and based upon the receipt of such input,the flight control module 24 can update the flight plan datastore 30with the received updated flight plan data. Generally, the flight plandata comprises the planned or target flight path for the vehicle 10,from take-off to landing, which can include a selected flight plan fortake-off, a selected flight plan for level or cruising flight, aselected flight plan for approach to landing, and so on. For each of theselected flight plans, the selected flight plan can be broken down intosegments or legs. In one example, the approach for the vehicle 10 canhave two or more legs, separated by one or more waypoints, which definethe approach.

The flight plan datastore 30 stores the information required formanaging the flight plan, as is known in the art. The flight plandatastore 30 can be defined in the ARINC 424 standard. The flight plandatastore 30 stores, for example, waypoints/intersections, airways,radio navigations aids, airports, runways, standard instrument departuredata, standard terminal arrival data, holding patterns and instrumentapproach procedures. The flight plan datastore 30 also stores thedefined legs of each of the flight plans, along with distance data innautical miles for the flight plan. The flight plan datastore 30 canalso store one or more vertical profiles associated with each of thedefined legs of each of the flight plans. Generally, the verticalprofile comprises an altitude range, speed, flight path angle, etc. forthe vehicle 10 for the particular leg of the flight plan.

The communication component 26 sends and receives data, such as flightplan data for the vehicle 10. In one example, the communicationcomponent 26 is a transceiver, and the flight plan data is transmittedvia modulated radio frequency (RF) signals. In this example, thecommunication component 26 demodulates the flight plan data for receiptby the flight control module 24. In addition, the communicationcomponent 26 may also receive flight plan data from the flight controlmodule 24, which has been modified by the pilot, and modulates thisflight plan data for transmission to the remote processing system 22(e.g. air traffic control station). It should be noted, however, thatany suitable communication method could be employed to enablecommunication between the vehicle 10 and the remote processing system 22(e.g. air traffic control station), such as an ACARS digital datalink.Thus, the communication component 26 enables two-way communicationsbetween the flight management system 12 onboard the vehicle 10 and theremote processing system 22.

The autopilot control module 28 is responsive to one or more inputcommands received via the human-machine interface 16 to control one ormore of the vehicle systems 18 to maintain the flight plan for thevehicle 10 based on the flight plan data, which is received from theflight control module 24. For example, the autopilot control module 28is responsive to the input command to generate one or more controlsignals to the vehicle systems 18 to execute one or more legs of aselected flight plan, for example, a descent or approach to landing,based on the flight plan data stored in the flight plan datastore 30. Inone example, the autopilot control module 28 comprises a verticalnavigation (VNAV) control module, which controls the vertical movementof the vehicle 10, for example, during an approach to landing flightplan.

In one embodiment, the flight management system 12 also includes anavigation system 31. The navigation system includes at least a globalpositioning system (GPS) 31 a. The global positioning system 31 aprovides a current global position of the vehicle 10. The globalpositioning system 31 a may include one or more position sensors, suchas a GPS receiver, radio aids, such as scanning distance measuringequipment, VHF omnidirectional radio range (VORs), inertial referencesystems (IRS). The flight management system 12 may integrate thepositions obtained from the one or more position sensors of the globalpositioning system 31 a and determine a single position of the vehicle10 and a corresponding accuracy of the position. The sensor signals fromthe one or more position sensors of the global positioning system 31 aare communicated, over a communication architecture, such as a bus, tothe vehicle state display control module 20.

The one or more sensors 14 observe measurable conditions of the vehicle10. In one example, the one or more sensors 14 comprise an altitudesensor 14 a, a vertical acceleration sensor 14 b, a vertical speedsensor 14 c, an altitude error rate sensor 14 d, a vertical speed errorrate sensor 14 e, an air speed sensor 14 f and an airspeed error ratesensor 14 g. The altitude sensor 14 a observes an altitude of thevehicle 10, and generates sensor signals based thereon. The verticalacceleration sensor 14 b observes a vertical acceleration of the vehicle10, and generates sensor signals based thereon. The vertical speedsensor 14 c observes a vertical speed of the vehicle 10, and generatessensors signals based thereon. The altitude error rate sensor 14 dobserves an error rate associated with the altitude measured by thealtitude sensor 14 a and generates sensor signals based thereon. Thevertical speed error rate sensor 14 e observes an error rate associatedwith the vertical speed measured by the vertical speed sensor 14 c andgenerates sensor signals based thereon. The air speed sensor 14 fobserves a speed of the air or wind surrounding the vehicle 10 (e.g. airspeed sensor), and generates sensor signals based thereon. The airspeederror rate sensor 14 g observes an error rate associated with the airspeed measured by the air speed sensor 14 f and generates sensor signalsbased thereon. The sensor signals generated by each of the sensors 14a-14 g are communicated to the vehicle state display control module 20.It should be noted that the use of sensors is merely exemplary, as oneor more of the observed conditions can be modeled by other modulesassociated with the vehicle 10, for example. Moreover, while illustratedherein as being separate from the flight management system 12, one ormore of the sensors 14 a-14 g may be implemented with the flightmanagement system 12.

The human-machine interface 16 enables the pilot and/or copilot of thevehicle 10 to interact with the vehicle 10. In one example, thehuman-machine interface 16 includes an input device 32 and at least onedisplay 34. The input device 32 receives inputs from the pilot and/orcopilot (or other occupant) of the vehicle 10, such as a request toalter the flight plan by the flight control module 24, an input commandfor the autopilot control module 28, etc. The input device 32 may beimplemented as a keyboard (not separately shown), a microphone (notseparately shown), a touchscreen layer associated with the display 34, atouch pen, a number pad, a mouse, a touchpad, a roller ball, apushbutton, a switch or other suitable device to receive data and/orcommands from the pilot and/or copilot. Of course, multiple inputdevices 32 can also be utilized.

The display 34 is generally located onboard the vehicle 10. The display34 is in communication with the vehicle state display control module 20to display one or more user interfaces in a graphical and/or textualformat to inform the pilot and/or copilot of the current and futurestate of the vehicle 10, as will be discussed in greater detail herein.While a single display 34 is illustrated in FIG. 1, it will beunderstood that the display 34 can include any number of displays thatare viewable by occupants of the vehicle 10, including the pilot and/orcopilot. The display 34 comprises any suitable technology for displayinginformation, including, but not limited to, a liquid crystal display(LCD), organic light emitting diode (OLED), plasma, or a cathode raytube (CRT). The input device 32 and the display 34 are each incommunication with the vehicle state display control module 20 over asuitable communication architecture or arrangement that facilitatestransfer of data, commands, power, etc.

The one or more vehicle systems 18 receive one or more control signalsfrom the autopilot control module 28 to control the flight path of thevehicle 10. In one example, the one or more vehicle systems 18 includean engine control system 18 a, a pitch control system 18 b and an airbrake control system 18 c. It should be noted that the one or morevehicle systems 18 is merely exemplary, and that the autopilot controlmodule 28 can transmit data/commands to multiple other vehicle systems18 n. The engine control system 18 a is responsive to the one or morecontrol signals from the autopilot control module 28 to control a speedof the vehicle 10, and in one example, comprises one or more actuatorsthat control a throttle associated with an engine of the vehicle 10. Thepitch control system 18 b is responsive to the one or more controlsignals to control a pitch of the vehicle 10, and in one example,comprises one or more elevator actuators. The air brake control system18 c is responsive to the one or more control signals to control a dragor angle of approach of the vehicle 10, and in one example, comprisesone or more air brake actuators.

The remote processing system 22, such as an air traffic control station,includes a remote flight plan control module 36, which generates theflight plan for the vehicle 10, and may also provide the flightmanagement system 12 with updated navigational data as is generallyknown. The flight plan and/or navigational data can be stored in adatastore 38, and transmitted to the vehicle 10 via a remotecommunication component 40, for example, a transceiver associated withthe remote processing system 22, or via an ACARS datalink as known inthe art. The remote communication component 40 enables two-waycommunications between the flight management system 12 onboard thevehicle 10 and the remote processing system 22. In one example, theflight plan and/or navigational data may be transmitted via modulatedradio frequency (RF) signals. It should be noted, however, that anysuitable communication method could be employed to enable communicationbetween the vehicle 10 and the remote processing system 22 (e.g. airtraffic control station).

In various embodiments, the vehicle state display control module 20outputs one or more user interfaces or user interface data for displayon the display 34 based on the sensor signals from the one or moresensors 14, the input received via the input device 32, the flight plandata from the flight control module 24, a position of the vehicle 10based on the global positioning system 31 a and based on the systems andmethods of the present disclosure. In various embodiments, based on thesensor signals from the one or more sensors 14, the input received viathe input device 32, the flight plan data from the flight control module24 and the position of the vehicle 10 based on the global positioningsystem 31 a, the vehicle state display control module 20 outputs a userinterface or user interface data for display on the display 34. Invarious embodiments, the vehicle state display control module 20 outputsa flight plan indicator on the user interface that graphically and/ortextually indicates the flight plan for the vehicle 10. In variousembodiments, the vehicle state display control module 20 also outputs aconverging indicator on the user interface, which graphically and/ortextually indicates a convergence of a current or a predicted futureflight path of the vehicle 10 to one or more legs of the selected flightplan. In various embodiments, the vehicle state display control module20 outputs a diverging indicator on the user interface, whichgraphically and/or textually indicates a divergence of a current or apredicted future flight path of the vehicle 10 to one or more legs ofthe selected flight plan. In various embodiments, the vehicle statedisplay control module 20 outputs a prompt on the user interface, whichgraphically and/or textually indicates a corrective action to enable aconvergence of the current or future path of the vehicle 10 to the oneor more legs of the selected flight plan. In various embodiments, thevehicle state display control module 20 also outputs an actionindicator, which graphically and/or textually indicates the resultantpath of the vehicle 10 if the corrective action is executed. The vehiclestate display control module 20 also outputs a position indicator thatgraphically and/or textually indicates a position of the vehicle 10. Oneor more of the user interfaces or user interface data generated by thevehicle state display control module 20 are output to the display 34. Invarious embodiments, the one or more user interfaces or user interfacedata are output for display on a vertical situation display; however,the user interfaces or user interface data can also be output to aprimary flight display, if desired.

Referring now to FIGS. 2A and 2B, and with continued reference to FIG.1, a dataflow diagram illustrates various embodiments of a controlsystem 100 for the vehicle 10 for the display of a convergence ordivergence of a current or future state or path of the vehicle 10 from aplanned or target flight plan, which may be embedded in the vehiclestate display control module 20. Various embodiments of the controlsystem 100 according to the present disclosure can include any number ofsub-modules embedded within the vehicle state display control module 20.As can be appreciated, the sub-modules shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B may becombined and/or further partitioned to similarly display the convergenceor divergence of the current or future state or path of the vehicle 10from the planned or target flight plan for display on the display 34.Inputs to the control system 100 may be received from the remoteprocessing system 22 (FIG. 1), received from the one or more sensors 14,received from the global positioning system 31 a, received from theinput device 32, received from the flight control module 24 and/orflight plan datastore 30, received from other control modules (notshown), and/or determined/modeled by other sub-modules (not shown)within the vehicle state display control module 20. In variousembodiments, the vehicle state display control module 20 includes avehicle state monitor module 102, a target monitor module 104, aconvergence determination module 106, a user interface (UI) controlmodule 108 and a threshold datastore 110.

In one embodiment, the vehicle state monitor module 102 receives asinput GPS data 112. The GPS data 112 comprises the data received fromthe one or more sensors of the global positioning system 31 a. Thevehicle state monitor module 102 determines the global position of thevehicle 10 based on the GPS data 112 received from the one or moresensors of the global positioning system 31 a, and based on thedetermined global position, the vehicle state monitor module 102receives as input flight plan leg data 114. The flight plan leg data 114comprises data regarding one or more legs of the selected flight plan.Based on the flight plan leg data 114, the vehicle state monitor module102 determines a current leg of the flight plan based on the determinedglobal position, and one or more upcoming or future legs of the flightplan. In one example, the flight plan leg data 114 is received from theflight control module 24, via the flight plan datastore 30.

In one embodiment, the vehicle state monitor module 102 receives asinput sensor data 116 from the one or more sensors 14. In this example,the vehicle state monitor module 102 receives altitude data 118, whichcomprises the sensor signals from the altitude sensor 14 a. The vehiclestate monitor module 102 also receives vertical acceleration data 120,which comprises the sensor signals from the vertical acceleration sensor14 b. The vehicle state monitor module 102 receives altitude error ratedata 122, which comprises the sensor signals from the altitude errorrate sensor 14 d. The vehicle state monitor module 102 also receivesvertical speed data 124, which comprises the sensor signals from thevertical speed sensor 14 c; and the vehicle state monitor module 102receives vertical speed error rate data 126, which comprises the sensorsignals from the vertical speed error rate sensor 14 e. The vehiclestate monitor module 102 also receives as input total airspeed data 127,which comprises the sensor signals from the air speed sensor 14 f. Thevehicle state monitor module 102 also receives as input airspeed errordata 129, which comprises the sensor signals from the airspeed errorrate sensor 14 g.

Based on the current leg of the flight plan identified from the flightplan leg data 114, the GPS data 112 and the sensor data 116, the vehiclestate monitor module 102 determines whether the vehicle 10 is on thecurrent leg of the flight plan based on a comparison between thedetermined global position and the flight plan leg data 114. Based onthis determination, the vehicle state monitor module 102 determineswhether the altitude of the vehicle 10 is within about 250 feet (ft)with respect to a vertical profile associated with the current leg, withthe vertical profile for the current leg retrieved from the flight planleg data 114 and the altitude of the vehicle 10 determined based on thealtitude data 118. If true, the vehicle state monitor module 102computes current path leg data 128. The current path leg data 128comprises a current state of the vehicle 10. In one example, the vehiclestate monitor module 102 computes the current path leg data 128 based onthe following equation for the path control law:

DELTA THETA_(TRACK)=(V/S _(gain) *V/S _(Error) +He _(gain) *He)/TAS  (1)

Wherein DELTA THETA_(TRACK) is the pitch command computed for thecurrent state or path of the vehicle 10 on the current leg or currentpath leg data 128; V/S_(gain) is the vertical speed gain, which is adefault calibration value associated with the vehicle 10 that is definedbased on simulated testing of the vehicle 10; V/S_(Error) is thevertical speed error rate data 126; He_(gain) is the altitude errorgain, which is a default calibration value associated with the vehicle10 that can be retrieved from a memory associated with the vehicle statemonitor module 102; He is the altitude error which is the differencebetween the current altitude from the altitude data 118 and the altitudeerror rate data 122 at the point based on the flight plan leg data 114;and TAS is the total air speed from the total airspeed data 127. Thepitch command can comprise the pitch or pitch angle for the vehicle 10.

The vehicle state monitor module 102 sets the computed current path legdata 128 for the convergence determination module 106. The computedcurrent path leg data 128 comprises the current state or path of thevehicle 10 associated with the current flight leg, from a start point ofthe flight leg to an end point of the flight leg. Thus, the computedcurrent path leg data 128 comprises the current state or path of thevehicle 10 based on the sensor data 116 from a start point to an endpoint of a leg of a flight plan.

Based on a future flight leg identified from the flight plan leg data114 and the current path leg data 128, the vehicle state monitor module102 also computes future path leg data 130 or the future state of thevehicle 10. In one example, the vehicle state monitor module 102computes the future path leg data 130 by interpolating the computedDELTA THETA_(TRACK) with a fixed ramp value for the future flight leg.Generally, the interpolation is based on ramping up or down the computedDELTA THETA_(TRACK) at fixed intervals for each future flight leg. Forexample, a fixed interval can be a period of time, such as about 200.0milliseconds (ms) or about 1.0 seconds (s). The ramp value comprises adefault value associated with the vehicle 10, which is stored in memoryassociated with the vehicle state monitor module 102. In one example,the ramp value comprises a number of iterations required to reach theend point of the future flight leg. For each future flight legidentified from the flight plan leg data 114, based on the current pathleg data 128, the vehicle state monitor module 102 computes the futurepath leg data 130 recursively by interpolating the computed DELTATHETA_(TRACK). Stated another way, the vehicle state monitor module 102computes the future path leg data 130 recursively, via interpolationfrom the computed current path leg data 128, for each of the future legsidentified from the flight plan leg data 114. The vehicle state monitormodule 102 sets the future path leg data 130 for the convergencedetermination module 106. The computed future path leg data 130comprises the predicted future path of the vehicle 10 associated witheach future flight leg, from a start point of the future flight leg toan end point of the future flight leg. Thus, the computed future pathleg data 130 comprises the predicted future path of the vehicle 10 basedon the sensor data 116 from a start point to an end point of a futureleg of a flight plan, which is interpolated linearly until the endpointof the future leg.

Based on the current leg of the flight plan identified from the flightplan leg data 114 and the GPS data 112, the vehicle state monitor module102 determines whether the vehicle 10 is geographically off the currentleg of the flight plan based on the flight plan leg data 114 and thedetermined global position of the vehicle 10 based on the GPS data 112.Based on the determination that the vehicle 10 is off the current leg ofthe flight plan, the vehicle state monitor module 102 determines whetherthe altitude of the vehicle based on the altitude data 118 is greaterthan about 250 feet (ft) above a vertical profile associated with thecurrent leg of the flight plan based on the flight plan leg data 114. Iftrue, the vehicle state monitor module 102 computes current leg speeddata 132. In one example, the vehicle state monitor module 102 computesthe current leg speed data 132 based off of computed pitch angle, whichis based on the following equation (Speed on Elevator Control Law):

DELTA THETA_(TRACK SPEED ELEVATOR)=(IAS _(gain) *IAS _(Error) +SPDrate_(gain) *IAS _(rate))/V   (2)

Wherein DELTA THETA_(TRACK SPEED ELEVATOR) is the pitch computed for theautopilot control module 28 (in this example, the vertical navigation(VNAV) autopilot) for the current leg or current leg speed data 132;IAS_(gain) is the indicated airspeed gain, which is determined by thenavigation system 31 or the autopilot control module 28 and can comprisea default calibration value associated with the vehicle 10; IAS_(Error)is the indicated airspeed error from the airspeed error data 129; SPDrate_(gain) the vertical speed rate gain, which is computed from thevertical acceleration data 120 and the vertical speed data 124;IAS_(rate) is the indicated airspeed rate, which is determined from thetotal airspeed data 127 and the airspeed error data 129; and V is thespeed from the vertical speed data 124. The pitch computed with equation(2), DELTA THETA_(TRACK SPEED ELEVATOR), in the example of the vehicle10 as an aircraft, comprises a required pitch or pitch angle of theaircraft derived using the speed on elevator control law, which oncecomputed allows the autopilot control module 28 to derive the speedrequired for the current leg of the flight plan based on the determinedDELTA THETA_(TRACK SPEED ELEVATOR). Stated another way, the DELTATHETA_(TRACK SPEED ELEVATOR) comprises a pitch angle based on speed onelevator control algorithm for the pitch control system 18 b forcontrolling the aircraft pitch and hence the speed and altitude of theaircraft by the autopilot control module 28. The vehicle state monitormodule 102 sets the computed current leg speed data 132 for theconvergence determination module 106. DELTA THETA_(TRACK SPEED ELEVATOR)can also be used by the autopilot control module 28 to control analtitude of the aircraft through the pitch control system 18 b, in theexample of the vehicle 10 as an aircraft.

Based on a future flight leg identified from the flight plan leg data114 and the current leg speed data 132, the vehicle state monitor module102 also computes future leg speed data 134. In one example, the vehiclestate monitor module 102 computes the future leg speed data 134 byinterpolating the computed DELTA THETA_(TRACK SPEED ELEVATOR) at a fixedramp value for the future flight leg. Generally, the interpolation isbased on ramping up or down the computed DELTATHETA_(TRACK SPEED ELEVATOR) at fixed intervals for each future flightleg. For example, a fixed interval can be a period of time, such asabout 200.0 milliseconds (ms) or about 1.0 seconds (s). The ramp valuecomprises a default value associated with the vehicle 10, which isstored in memory associated with the vehicle state monitor module 102.In one example, the ramp value comprises a number of iterations requiredto reach the end point of the future flight leg. For each future flightleg identified from the flight plan leg data 114, based on the currentleg speed data 132, the vehicle state monitor module 102 computes thefuture leg speed data 134 recursively by interpolating the computedDELTA THETA_(TRACK SPEED ELEVATOR). Stated another way, the vehiclestate monitor module 102 computes the future leg speed data 134recursively, via interpolation from the computed current leg speed data132, for each of the future legs identified from the flight plan legdata 114. Thus, the computed future leg speed data 134 comprises thepredicted future speed of the vehicle 10 based on the sensor data 116from a start point to an end point of a future leg of a flight plan,which is interpolated linearly until the endpoint of the future leg. Thevehicle state monitor module 102 sets the future leg speed data 134 forthe convergence determination module 106.

The target monitor module 104 receives flight plan data 136 as input. Invarious embodiments, the flight plan data 136 is received from theflight plan datastore 30, via the flight control module 24 and comprisesthe selected flight plan for the vehicle 10. In one example, the targetmonitor module 104 receives as input flight plan altitude data 138,flight plan altitude error rate data 140, flight plan verticalacceleration data 142, flight plan vertical speed data 144 and flightplan vertical speed error rate data 146. Each of the flight planaltitude data 138, the flight plan altitude error rate data 140, theflight plan vertical acceleration data 142, the flight plan verticalspeed data 144 and the flight plan vertical speed error rate data 146can be retrieved from the flight plan datastore 30 via the flightcontrol module 24 and/or the vehicle state display control module 20.The flight plan altitude data 138 comprises the target altitude for thevehicle 10 for the particular leg of the flight plan. The flight planaltitude error rate data 140 comprises the target altitude error ratefor the altitude of the vehicle 10 for particular the leg of the flightplan. The flight plan vertical acceleration data 142 comprises thetarget vertical acceleration for the vehicle 10 based on the particularleg of the flight plan. The flight plan vertical speed data 144comprises the target vertical speed for the vehicle 10 based on theparticular leg of the flight plan; and the flight plan vertical speederror rate data 146 comprises the target vertical speed error for thevehicle 10 based on the particular leg of the flight plan. It should benoted that the use of the word “target” is to denote planned (e.g.pre-planned) values associated with the travel of the vehicle 10 alongthe selected flight plan. Stated another way, the target values receivedfrom the flight plan data 136 provide the planned values for thealtitude, altitude error rate, vertical acceleration, vertical speed andvertical speed error rate of the vehicle 10 as the vehicle 10 travelsalong the flight plan stored in the flight plan datastore 30 or thetarget state for the vehicle 10.

The target monitor module 104 also receives as input the GPS data 112and the flight plan leg data 114. Based on the GPS data 112, the targetmonitor module 104 determines or identifies a current leg of the flightplan based on the flight plan leg data 114. The target monitor module104 also interprets the GPS data 112 and determines a geographicalcoordinate position of the vehicle 10. The target monitor module 104sets the determined position of the vehicle 10 as position data 155 forthe UI control module 108.

Based on the determination of the current leg from the flight plan legdata 114, the target monitor module 104 receives as input the flightplan data 136 associated with the current leg of the flight plan and thesensor data 116. The target monitor module 104 determines whether thealtitude of the vehicle 10, determined based on the altitude data 118,is within about 250 feet (ft) with respect to a vertical profileassociated with the current leg of the flight plan from the flight planleg data 114. Based on this determination, the target monitor module 104computes target leg pitch data 148 based on the flight plan data 136 forthe determined current leg. In one example, the target monitor module104 computes the target leg pitch data 148 based on the followingequation:

DELTA THETA_(CAPT)=path capture gain*arc sin(V/S _(Error) /V)   (3)

Wherein DELTA THETA_(CAPT) is the target pitch command required for thevehicle 10 for capturing the target flight path for the current leg ofthe flight plan or target leg pitch data 148; path capture gain is therequired gain to control the effect of desired vertical acceleration onthe path control law, and comprises a default value that is associatedwith the vehicle 10 and determined based on calibration or experimentaldata; V/S_(Error) is the flight plan vertical speed error rate data 146;and V is the vertical speed from the flight plan vertical speed data144. The target monitor module 104 sets the computed target leg pitchdata 148 for the convergence determination module 106.

Based on the flight plan leg data 114, the target monitor module 104determines or identifies an end point of the current leg of the selectedflight plan. Based on the determination of the end point from the flightplan leg data 114, the target monitor module 104 receives as input theflight plan data 136 associated with determined end point for currentleg of the flight plan. The target monitor module 104 computes targetleg end data 150 based on the flight plan data 136 for the determinedend point of the current leg using equation (3), above. The targetmonitor module 104 sets the target leg end data 150 for the convergencedetermination module 106.

Based on the flight plan leg data 114 and the flight plan data 136, thetarget monitor module 104 computes future target data 152 for eachfuture leg of the flight plan, which comprises a future state for thevehicle 10. The future leg(s) of the flight plan are determined based onthe flight plan leg data 114 and the GPS data 112. Thus, for each futureleg, the target monitor module 104 receives the flight plan data 136 andcomputes the DELTA THETA_(CAPT), including the end point for each futureleg, using equation (3) above. In one example, the target monitor module104 computes the future target data 152 by interpolating the computedDELTA THETA_(CAPT) at a fixed ramp value for the future leg. Generally,the interpolation is based on ramping up or down the computed DELTATHETA_(CAPT) at fixed intervals for each future flight leg. For example,a fixed interval can be a period of time, such as about 200.0milliseconds (ms) or about 1.0 seconds (s). The ramp value comprises adefault value associated with the vehicle 10, which is stored in memoryassociated with the target monitor module 104. In one example, the rampvalue comprises a number of iterations required to reach the end pointof the future leg. For each future leg identified from the flight planleg data 114, based on the flight plan data 136, the target monitormodule 104 computes the future target data 152 recursively byinterpolating the computed DELTA THETA_(CAPT). Stated another way, thetarget monitor module 104 computes the future target data 152recursively, via interpolation from the computed target leg pitch data148, for each of the future legs identified from the flight plan legdata 114. Thus, the future target data 152 comprises the future targetpaths of the vehicle 10, as determined based on the flight plan data 136associated with each respective future leg of the selected flight plan.The target monitor module 104 sets the future target data 152 for theconvergence determination module 106.

Based on the flight plan leg data 114, the GPS data 112 and the flightplan data 136, the target monitor module 104 determines whether thevehicle 10 is geographically off the current leg of the flight plan.Based on this determination, the target monitor module 104 determineswhether the altitude error or the difference between the currentaltitude from the altitude data 118 and the altitude error rate data 122at the current geographical position is greater than about 250 feet (ft)based on the sensor data 116, or whether the difference between thevertical speed of the vehicle 10 based on the vertical speed data 124and the flight plan vertical speed data 144 is greater than 10 knots.Based on this determination, the target monitor module 104 computestarget speed data 154 for each of the legs of the flight plan. In oneexample, the target monitor module 104 computes the target speed data154 based on the following equation for computing the pitch command:

DELTA THETA_(CAPT SPD ELEVATOR) =SPD rate _(gain)*(IAS _(rate)−Targetcapture rate)   (4)

Wherein DELTA THETA_(CAPT SPD ELEVATOR) is the target pitch angle forthe autopilot control module 28 (in this example, the verticalnavigation (VNAV) autopilot) for capturing the target flight path ortarget speed data 154; SPD rate_(gain) is the flight plan vertical speedrate gain, which is computed from the flight plan vertical accelerationdata 142 and the flight plan vertical speed data 144; IAS_(rate) is theindicated airspeed rate for the target flight plan, which is receivedfrom the flight plan datastore 30; and Target capture rate is therequired vertical speed for the vehicle 10 to capture the target flightpath, which is a default value associated with the vehicle 10 that isdetermined from calibration or experimental data. The pitch anglecomputed with equation (4), DELTA THETA_(CAPT SPD ELEVATOR), in theexample of the vehicle 10 as an aircraft, comprises a pitch angle forcapture control and hence the target speed based on speed on elevatorcontrol law for controlling the speed and altitude of the aircraft bythe autopilot control module 28. The vehicle state monitor module 102sets the computed target speed data 154 for the convergencedetermination module 106.

The threshold datastore 110 stores one or more thresholds for the flightpath of the vehicle 10. In various embodiments, the threshold datastore110 stores a threshold for a change in altitude, a threshold for achange in vertical speed and a threshold for a change in vertical speederror. Stated another way, the threshold datastore 110 stores thresholddata 158, which provides one or more thresholds for changes in altitude,vertical speed, and vertical speed error. Each of the thresholds storedin the threshold datastore 110 can comprise default values, which areassociated with the particular vehicle 10. In other embodiments, one ormore of the thresholds can be user defined, via input received from theinput device 32, for example.

The convergence determination module 106 receives as input an enablecommand 156 from the UI control module 108. The enable command indicatesthat an input command for an autopilot of the vehicle 10 has beenreceived to execute a selected flight plan via the input device 32. Inone example, the enable command 156 is generated based on the receipt ofan input command for a vertical navigation (VNAV) autopilot, such as forexecuting an approach to landing flight plan. Based on the receipt ofthe enable command 156, the convergence determination module 106receives as input the current path leg data 128 (i.e. a current state ofthe vehicle 10) and the target leg pitch data 148 (i.e the target stateof the vehicle 10). The convergence determination module 106 comparesthe current path leg data 128 and the target leg pitch data 148, anddetermines whether the current path leg data 128 differs from the targetleg pitch data 148. If the current path leg data 128 does not differfrom the target leg pitch data 148, the convergence determination module106 sets convergence leg data 160 for the UI control module 108. Theconvergence leg data 160 indicates that the current path of the vehicle10 will converge to the target path of the vehicle 10 for the currentleg of the flight plan. Stated another way, the convergence leg data 160indicates that for a particular leg of the flight plan, such as thecurrent leg, the current, actual path (current state) of the vehicle 10matches or is within a tolerance for the particular planned or targetflight path (target state) of the vehicle 10 for the particular leg inthe flight plan data.

If the current path leg data 128 differs from the target leg pitch data148, the convergence determination module 106 sets divergence leg data162 for the UI control module 108. The divergence leg data 162 indicatesthat the current path or pitch of the vehicle 10 will not converge tothe target path or pitch of the vehicle 10 for the current leg of theflight plan based on the difference between the current path leg data128 and the target leg pitch data 148. Stated another way, thedivergence leg data 162 indicates that for a particular leg of theflight plan, such as the current leg, the current, actual path or pitchof the vehicle 10 does not match or correspond with a planned targetflight path or pitch of the vehicle 10 for the particular leg in theflight plan data.

Based on the determination that the current path leg data 128 differsfrom the target leg pitch data 148, the convergence determination module106 determines whether a modification or revision can be made to thecurrent path of the vehicle 10 to capture or converge on the plannedtarget flight path. In this regard, based on the difference between thecurrent path leg data 128 and the target leg pitch data 148, theconvergence determination module 106 determines whether a change in avertical speed or a change in the altitude of the vehicle 10 will enablethe vehicle 10 to converge to the target flight path. In one example,the convergence determination module 106 determines that a revision canbe made based on the difference between the current path leg data 128and the target leg pitch data 148 as being within a predefined ordefault range. In certain embodiments, the convergence determinationmodule 106 determines a revision can be made based on input receivedfrom other modules of the vehicle 10, such as the flight managementsystem 12. Based on the determination that a revision can be made, theconvergence determination module 106 retrieves the threshold data 158from the threshold datastore 110. The convergence determination module106 evaluates the threshold data 158 and determines whether the revisionis acceptable based on the threshold for changes in altitude, verticalspeed and vertical speed error retrieved from the threshold datastore110. If the revision is acceptable, the convergence determination module106 sets revision data 164 for the UI control module 108. The revisiondata 164 comprises one or more corrective actions to the current orpredicted flight path of the vehicle 10 to capture the target flightpath. In various embodiments, the revision data 164 also includes theresultant path of the vehicle 10 if the corrective action is completedby the pilot, copilot and/or autopilot control module 28. Generally, theresultant path comprises the target current or future path of thevehicle 10.

Based on the receipt of the enable command 156, the convergencedetermination module 106 also receives as input the target leg end data150, which identifies the target end point of the current leg of theflight plan. The convergence determination module 106 compares thetarget leg end data 150 and the end point of the current path leg data128, and determines whether the target leg end data 150 differs from theend point of the current path leg data 128.

If the end point of the current path leg data 128 differs from thetarget leg end data 150, the convergence determination module 106 setsend point data 166 for the UI control module 108 that indicates adivergence at the end point. If the end point of the current path legdata 128 does not differ from the target leg end data 150, theconvergence determination module 106 sets end point data 166 for the UIcontrol module 108 that indicates a convergence at the end point.

Based on the receipt of the enable command 156, the convergencedetermination module 106 also receives as input the current leg speeddata 132 and the target speed data 154 associated with the current legof the target flight path. The convergence determination module 106compares the current leg speed data 132 and the target speed data 154,and determines whether the current leg speed data 132 differs from thetarget speed data 154.

If the current leg speed data 132 differs from the target speed data154, the convergence determination module 106 sets speed data 168 forthe UI control module 108 that indicates a divergence from the targetspeed of the vehicle 10 for the particular leg of the selected flightplan. If the current leg speed data 132 does not differ from the targetspeed data 154, the convergence determination module 106 sets speed data168 for the UI control module 108 that indicates a convergence of thespeed or that the speed for the vehicle 10 corresponds with or is withinan acceptable tolerance for the target vertical speed of the vehicle 10along the particular leg of the selected flight plan.

Once the convergence determination module 106 has compared the currentpath leg data 128, the target leg pitch data 148, the target leg enddata 150, the current leg speed data 132 and the target speed data 154,the convergence determination module 106 receives as input the futurepath leg data 130 and the future target data 152. For each leg of theflight plan, the convergence determination module 106 compares thefuture path leg data 130 and the future target data 152 to determinewhether a difference exists between the target leg pitch data 148 andthe future target data 152 (i.e. determines a future state for thevehicle 10) for each future leg of the flight plan. Based on thedetermination of a difference, the convergence determination module 106sets the divergence leg data 162 to indicate a divergence of thepredicted path or pitch of the vehicle 10 as compared to the target pathor pitch for the respective future leg of the flight plan. If thedifference between the future path leg data 130 and the future targetdata 152 does not differ, the convergence determination module 106 setsthe convergence leg data 160 to indicate a convergence of the predictedpath or pitch of the vehicle 10 with the target path or pitch for therespective future leg of the flight plan.

Based on the determination that the future path leg data 130 differsfrom the future target data 152, the convergence determination module106 also determines whether a modification or revision can be made tothe predicted path of the vehicle 10 to capture or converge on thefuture planned target flight path. In this regard, based on thedifference between the future path leg data 130 and the future targetdata 152, the convergence determination module 106 determines whether achange in a vertical speed or a change in the altitude of the vehicle 10will enable the vehicle 10 to converge to the future target flight path.In one example, the convergence determination module 106 determines thata revision can be made based on the difference between the current pathleg data 128 and the target leg pitch data 148 as being within apredefined or default range. In certain embodiments, the convergencedetermination module 106 determines a revision can be made based oninput received from other modules of the vehicle 10, such as the flightmanagement system 12. If the convergence determination module 106determines that a revision can be made, the convergence determinationmodule 106 retrieves the threshold data 158 from the threshold datastore110. The convergence determination module 106 evaluates the thresholddata 158 and determines whether the revision is acceptable based on thethreshold for changes in altitude, vertical speed and vertical speederror retrieved from the threshold datastore 110. If the revision isacceptable, the convergence determination module 106 sets the revisiondata 164 for the UI control module 108.

Once the convergence determination module 106 has compared the currentpath leg data 128, the target leg pitch data 148, the target leg enddata 150, the current leg speed data 132 and the target speed data 154,the convergence determination module 106 receives as input the futureleg speed data 134 and the target speed data 154. For each leg of theflight plan, the convergence determination module 106 compares thefuture leg speed data 134 and the target speed data 154 to determinewhether a difference exists between the future leg speed data 134 andthe target speed data 154 for each future leg of the flight plan. Basedon the determination of a difference, the convergence determinationmodule 106 sets the speed data 168 to indicate a divergence in the speedof the vehicle 10 as compared to the target speed for the respectivefuture leg of the flight plan. If the difference between the future legspeed data 134 and the target speed data 154 does not differ, theconvergence determination module 106 sets the speed data 168 to indicatea convergence of the speed of the vehicle 10 with the target speed forthe respective future leg of the flight plan.

The UI control module 108 receives as input user input data 170. Theinput data 170 comprises one or more inputs received from the pilotand/or copilot via the input device 32. The UI control module 108interprets the input data 170 and sets the enable 156 for theconvergence determination module 106.

The UI control module 108 also receives as input the position data 155,the flight plan leg data 114, the convergence leg data 160, thedivergence leg data 162, the revision data 164, the end point data 166and the speed data 168. Based on the position data 155, the flight planleg data 114, the convergence leg data 160, the divergence leg data 162,the revision data 164, the end point data 166 and the speed data 168,the UI control module 108 outputs a user interface 172 for display onthe display 34 onboard the vehicle 10. In various embodiments, the UIcontrol module 108 generates the user interface 172, which comprises oneor more signals for the display 34. In one example, the user interface172 is a graphical and textual user interface, which includes a flightplan indicator 173, a converging indicator 174, a diverging indicator176, a prompt 178, an action indicator 177 and a position icon 179.

The flight plan indicator 173 graphically and/or textually indicates theone or more legs of the selected flight plan for the vehicle 10, basedon the flight plan leg data 114. The converging indicator 174 comprisesa graphical and/or textual indicator that indicates a convergence of acurrent or future state or path of the vehicle 10 to the one or morelegs of the selected flight plan, based on the convergence leg data 160,the end point data 166 and the speed data 168. For example, theconverging indicator 174 comprises a line in a first color including,but limited to, a green line. In one example, the converging indicator174 is superimposed over the flight plan indicator 173 to graphicallyillustrate the convergence of the current or future path of the vehicle10 to one or more legs of the selected flight plan. The divergingindicator 176 comprises a graphical and/or textual indicator thatindicates a divergence of the current or future state or path of thevehicle 10 from the one or more legs of the selected flight plan, basedon the divergence leg data 162, the end point data 166 and the speeddata 168. For example, the diverging indicator 176 comprises a line in asecond color, which is different than the first color, including, butlimited to, a red line. In one example, the diverging indicator 176 ispositioned relative to one or more legs of the selected flight plan toillustrate the divergence of the current or future state of the vehicle10 from the selected flight plan. In the example of FIGS. 3-6, theconverging indicator 174 comprises a dot-dash line, the flight planindicator 173 comprises a dash line and the diverging indicator 176comprises a solid line. It will be understood that the use of differentline types for the converging indicator 174, the flight plan indicator173 and the diverging indicator 176 are merely exemplary, as theconverging indicator 174, the flight plan indicator 173 and thediverging indicator 176 can each have a different color and/or adifferent line type to visually convey to the user the current andfuture state of the vehicle 10.

The prompt 178 comprises a graphical and/or textual notification, suchas a balloon or pop-up box, that graphically or textually indicates acorrective action to be taken by the pilot, copilot and/or autopilotcontrol module 28 to correct the current or predicted (future) path ofthe vehicle 10 such that the vehicle 10 converges to the one or morelegs of the selected flight plan, based on the revision data 164. Theaction indicator 177 comprises a graphical and/or textual indicator thatgraphically or textually represents the convergence of the current orfuture path of the vehicle 10 to one or more legs of the selected flightplan, if the pilot, copilot and/or autopilot control module 28 executedthe corrective action in the prompt 178, based on the revision data 164.Stated another way, the action indicator 177 graphically and/ortextually indicates the resultant path of the vehicle 10 if thecorrective action is executed. In various embodiments, the actionindicator 177 comprises a textual notification and a graphicalrepresentation of the resultant path. The position icon 179 comprises agraphical and/or textual icon that indicates the current geographicalposition of the vehicle 10, based on the position data 155.

Generally, based on the flight plan leg data 114, the UI control module108 outputs the flight plan indicator 173 for display on the userinterface 172. Based on the position data 155, the UI control module 108outputs the position icon 179 for display on the user interface 172.Based on the convergence leg data 160, the end point data 166 and thespeed data 168, the UI control module 108 outputs the convergingindicator 174 for display on the user interface 172. Based on thedivergence leg data 162, the end point data 166 and the speed data 168,the UI control module 108 outputs the diverging indicator 176 fordisplay on the user interface 172. Based on the revision data 164, theUI control module 108 outputs the prompt 178 for display on the userinterface 172. In various embodiments, based on the revision data 164,the UI control module 108 also outputs the action indicator 177.

For example, with reference to FIG. 3, one example of the user interface172 is shown. In this example, the user interface 172 comprises avertical state display (VSD) associated with the vehicle 10. In theexample of the user interface 172 as the VSD, the user interface 172includes a y-axis 180 that denotes an altitude in meters (m) or feet(ft), and an x-axis 182 that denotes a distance in nautical miles(n.m.). It should be noted that the units used herein on the userinterface 172 are merely exemplary, as other units of measure foraltitude may be used depending upon a preference, such as an operator'spreference or owner's preference, associated with the vehicle 10. Theconverging indicator 174 is superimposed over the flight plan indicator173 at which point the current and future state of the vehicle 10converges, and diverging indicator 176 is spaced apart from the flightplan indicator 173 to graphically indicate the divergence of the futurestate of the vehicle 10 from the one or more legs of the selected flightplan. As the convergence determination module 106 determines theconvergence leg data 160, the divergence leg data 162, the end pointdata 166 and the speed data 168 for the current and future state of thevehicle 10 along the selected flight plan, the converging indicator 174and the diverging indicator 176 are displayed for each leg of theselected flight plan to provide the pilot and/or co-pilot withsituational awareness of the current and future movement of the vehicle10. This reduces the work load of the pilot and/or copilot. It should benoted that the user interface 172 can also include other indicators,such as one or more triangles that graphically indicate one or morewaypoints, and the one or more waypoints can be determined based on theflight plan leg data 114.

With reference to FIG. 4, another example of the user interface 172 isshown. In this example, the user interface 172 also comprises the VSDassociated with the vehicle 10; and includes the y-axis 180 that denotesthe altitude in meters (m) or feet (ft), and the x-axis 182 that denotesthe distance in nautical miles (n.m.). It should be noted that the unitsused herein on the user interface 172 are merely exemplary, as otherunits of measure for altitude may be used depending upon a preference,such as an operator's preference or owner's preference, associated withthe vehicle 10. The converging indicator 174 is superimposed over aportion of the flight plan indicator 173 at which the future state ofthe vehicle 10 converges, and the converging indicator 174′ is spacedapart from the flight plan indicator 173 to illustrate that theconvergence of the current or future path of the vehicle 10 is within atolerance for the leg of the selected flight plan (for example, withinabout 250 feet (ft)). The diverging indicator 176 is spaced apart fromthe flight plan indicator 173 to graphically indicate the divergence ofthe current state of the vehicle 10 from the leg of the selected flightplan. As the convergence determination module 106 determines theconvergence leg data 160, the divergence leg data 162, the end pointdata 166 and the speed data 168 for the current and future state of thevehicle 10 along the selected flight plan, the converging indicator 174,the converging indicator 174′ and the diverging indicator 176 aredisplayed for each portion of the planned flight path to provide thepilot and/or co-pilot with situational awareness of the current andfuture movement of the vehicle 10. It should be noted that the userinterface 172 can also include other indicators, such as one or moretriangles that graphically indicate one or more waypoints, and the oneor more waypoints can be determined from the flight plan leg data 114.

With reference to FIG. 5, another example of the user interface 172 isshown. In this example, the user interface 172 also comprises the VSDassociated with the vehicle 10; and includes the y-axis 180 that denotesthe altitude in meters (m) or feet (ft), and the x-axis 182 that denotesthe distance in nautical miles (n.m.). The converging indicator 174 issuperimposed over a portion of the flight plan indicator 173 to whichthe future state of the vehicle 10 converges with the leg of theselected flight plan. The diverging indicator 176 is spaced apart fromthe flight plan indicator 173 to graphically indicate the divergence ofthe current and the future state of the vehicle 10 from one or more legsof the selected flight plan. The prompt 178 graphically and/or textuallyindicates a corrective action for the pilot, copilot and/or autopilotcontrol module 28 to result in a convergence of the vehicle 10 to theselected flight plan. The action indicator 177 textually indicates theresult of the corrective action for the pilot and/or copilot, and theaction indicator 177′ indicates the resultant path of the vehicle 10. Inthis example, the action indicator 177′ comprises a second dash line,however, the action indicator 177′ can comprise a highlighted section(e.g. a rectangular box), a line with a different thickness, etc. As theconvergence determination module 106 determines the convergence leg data160, the divergence leg data 162, the revision data 164, the end pointdata 166 and the speed data 168 for the current and future state of thevehicle 10 along the selected flight plan, the converging indicator 174,the prompt 178, the action indicator 177, the action indicator 177′ andthe diverging indicator 176 are displayed for each leg of the selectedflight plan, as appropriate, to provide the pilot and/or co-pilot withsituational awareness of the current and future movement of the vehicle10. It should be noted that the user interface 172 can also includeother indicators, such as one or more triangles that graphicallyindicate one or more waypoints, and the one or more waypoints can bedetermined from the flight plan leg data 114.

Referring now to FIGS. 7-9, and with continued reference to FIGS. 1-6, aflowchart illustrates a control method that can be performed by thevehicle state display control module 20 of FIGS. 1-2 in accordance withthe present disclosure. As can be appreciated in light of thedisclosure, the order of operation within the method is not limited tothe sequential execution as illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, but may beperformed in one or more varying orders as applicable and in accordancewith the present disclosure.

In various embodiments, the method can be scheduled to run periodicallyor based on predetermined events, such as based on the receipt of inputdata 170 or upon a start-up of the vehicle 10.

With reference to FIG. 7, a method 200 for displaying current and futurestates of a vehicle 10 is shown. The method begins at 202. In variousembodiments, block 204 is optional. Optionally at 204, the methoddetermines whether input has been received via the input device 32,which comprises the input command for the autopilot control module 28.If input has been received, the method proceeds to 206. Otherwise, themethod loops. Alternatively, the method proceeds directly to 206, andthus, input from the input device 32 is not required for the method togenerate current and future states of the vehicle 10 for display on thedisplay 34.

At 206, the method receives the sensor data 116; the GPS data 112; theflight plan data 136 and the flight plan leg data 114 from the flightplan datastore 30 for the selected flight plan, via the flight controlmodule 24, for example. At 207, the method determines whether thealtitude of the vehicle 10 is within about 250 feet (ft) of the verticalprofile associated with the current leg of the flight plan based on theGPS data 112, the flight plan leg data 114 and the altitude data 118. Iftrue, the method proceeds to 208. Otherwise, the method proceeds to 210.

At 208, the method determines the current path or pitch of the vehicle10 for the current leg based on the sensor data 116 and the flight planleg data 114 (e.g. computes the current path leg data 128 from equation(1)). At 212, the method determines the target flight path or pitch ofthe vehicle 10 for the current leg of the selected flight plan based onthe flight plan data 136 (e.g. computes the target leg pitch data 148based on equation (3)). At 214, the method determines the target endpoint for the vehicle 10 for the current leg based on the flight plandata 136 (e.g. target leg end data 150).

At 218, the method determines whether the current path of the vehicle 10(e.g. the current path leg data 128) matches the target path for thecurrent leg of the selected flight plan (e.g. target leg pitch data148). If the current path leg data 128 matches the target leg pitch data148, the method proceeds to 230. Otherwise, at 226, the methoddetermines whether a revision of the current flight path of the vehicle10 to converge to the target path is permissible, based on the thresholddata 158. If the revision is permissible, at 228, the method determinesthe current leg is diverging (e.g. determines divergence leg data 162for the current leg) and determines the revision data 164. The methodproceeds to A on FIG. 8. Otherwise, if revision is not permissible, at227, the method determines the current leg is diverging (e.g. determinesdivergence leg data 162 for the current leg) and proceeds to A on FIG.8.

At 230, the method determines whether the end point of the current pathof the vehicle 10 from the current path leg data 128 matches the targetleg end point of the target path (e.g. target leg end data 150) for thecurrent leg of the selected flight plan. If the end point matches thetarget leg end point, the method proceeds to 232. At 232, the methoddetermines the current leg is converging, on path or in synch with thetarget profile determined from the flight plan data 136 and the flightplan leg data 114, and proceeds to A on FIG. 8. Otherwise, the methodproceeds to 226.

At 210, the method determines the current speed of the vehicle 10 forthe current leg of the selected flight path based on the sensor data 116and the flight plan leg data 114 (e.g. the current leg speed data 132).At 216, the method determines the target speed for the vehicle 10 forthe current leg based on the flight plan data 136 (e.g. target speeddata 154). At 220, the method determines whether the current speed ofthe vehicle 10 (e.g. the current leg speed data 132 computed fromequation (2)) matches the target speed (e.g. the target speed data 154)for the current leg of the selected flight plan. If the current legspeed data 132 matches the target speed data 154, the method proceeds to231. Otherwise, the method proceeds to 233.

At 231, the method determines the current leg is converging and proceedsto B on FIG. 9. At 233, the method determines the current leg isdiverging and proceeds to B on FIG. 9.

With reference to FIG. 8, and continued reference to FIGS. 1-6, from A,at 250, the method determines, for the next, future leg (based on theflight plan leg data 114), the future path of the vehicle 10 based onthe interpolation of the determined current path (e.g. computes thefuture path leg data 130). At 254, the method determines, for the next,future leg, the future target flight path (e.g. computes the futuretarget data 152) based on the flight plan data 136 for the next, futureleg of the selected flight path.

At 258, the method determines whether the future path (e.g. the futurepath leg data 130) of the vehicle 10 matches the target future path(e.g. the future target data 152) for the vehicle 10 for the next,future leg. If true, the method proceeds to 264. Otherwise, at 266, themethod determines whether a revision of the future flight path of thevehicle 10 to converge to the target future path (e.g. future targetdata 152) is permissible, based on the threshold data 158. If therevision is permissible, at 268, the method determines the next, futureleg is diverging (e.g. determines divergence leg data 162 for the next,future leg) and determines the revision data 164. The method proceeds to270. Otherwise, if revision is not permissible, at 272, the methoddetermines the next, future leg is diverging (e.g. determines divergenceleg data 162 for the next, future leg) and proceeds to 270.

At 270, the method determines whether all legs of the selected flightplan have been processed or determined as converging or diverging, basedon the flight plan leg data 114. If true, the method proceeds to 274.Otherwise, the method loops to 250.

At 274, the method generates and outputs the user interface 172 fordisplay on the display 34, which includes the flight plan indicator 173,the position icon 179, and one or more of the converging indicator 174,the diverging indicator 176, the prompt 178 and the action indicator 177based on the determinations for each of the legs of the selected flightplan. The method ends at 276.

With reference to FIG. 9, and continued reference to FIGS. 1-6, from B,at 302, the method determines for the next, future leg, the future speedof the vehicle 10 based on the interpolation of the determined currentstate or speed of the vehicle 10 (e.g. computes the future leg speeddata 134 recursively by interpolating the computed DELTATHETA_(TRACK SPEED ELEVATOR)). At 304, the method determines for thenext, future leg, the future target speed (e.g. computes the targetspeed data 154 for the next, future leg) based on the flight plan data136 for the next, future leg of the selected flight path.

At 306, the method determines whether the future speed (e.g. the futureleg speed data 134, computed recursively by interpolating the computedDELTA THETA_(TRACK SPEED ELEVATOR)) matches the target speed (e.g. thetarget speed data 154 computed from equation (4)) for the next, futureleg of the selected flight path. If the future leg speed data 134matches the target speed data 154, the method proceeds to 308. At 308,the method determines the next, future leg is converging (e.g.determines convergence leg data 160 for the next, future leg).Otherwise, the method proceeds to 310.

At 312, the method determines whether all legs of the selected flightplan have been processed or determined as converging or diverging, basedon the flight plan leg data 114. If true, the method proceeds to C onFIG. 8. Otherwise, the method loops to 302.

At 310, the method determines the next, future leg is diverging (e.g.determines divergence leg data 162 for the next, future leg) andproceeds to 312.

While at least one exemplary embodiment has been presented in theforegoing detailed description, it should be appreciated that a vastnumber of variations exist. It should also be appreciated that theexemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments are only examples, and arenot intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of thedisclosure in any way. Rather, the foregoing detailed description willprovide those skilled in the art with a convenient road map forimplementing the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments. Itshould be understood that various changes can be made in the functionand arrangement of elements without departing from the scope of thedisclosure as set forth in the appended claims and the legal equivalentsthereof.

1. A method for displaying a current state and a future state of avehicle on a display associated with the vehicle, the method comprising:receiving, by a processor, flight plan data for a selected flight planand a plurality of legs associated with the selected flight plan from asource of flight plan data; determining, by the processor, whether thevehicle is within a vertical profile associated with one of theplurality of legs of the selected flight plan based on sensor datagenerated by one or more sensors associated with the vehicle; based onthe determining that the vehicle is within the vertical profile,determining, by the processor, a current state of the vehicle withrespect to the one of the plurality of legs of the selected flight planbased on the sensor data, the current state of the vehicle comprising acurrent pitch of the vehicle; determining, by the processor, a currenttarget state for the vehicle with respect to one of the plurality oflegs of the selected flight plan based on the flight plan data;determining, by the processor, a divergence of the current state basedon a difference between the current state and the current target state;generating, by the processor, a user interface for display on thedisplay that illustrates the divergence of the current state withrespect to the one of the plurality of legs of the selected flight plan;and displaying the generated user interface on the display.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: determining, by the processor, afuture state of the vehicle with respect to a second one of theplurality of legs of the selected flight plan based on the determinedcurrent state; and determining, by the processor, a future target statefor the vehicle with respect to the second one of the plurality of legsbased on the flight plan data.
 3. The method of claim 2, furthercomprising: determining one of a convergence of the future state basedon the future state matching the future target state or a divergence ofthe future state based on a difference between the future state and thefuture target state.
 4. The method of claim 3, further comprisingoutputting the user interface for display on the display with anindicator that graphically illustrates the convergence or divergence ofthe future state.
 5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:superimposing a converging indicator that graphically illustrates theconvergence of the future state on a flight plan indicator thatgraphically illustrates the selected flight plan.
 6. The method of claim1, further comprising: determining a convergence of the current statewith the current target state based on the current state matching thecurrent target state; and outputting the user interface for display onthe display that graphically indicates the convergence of the currentstate with respect to the one of the plurality of legs of the selectedflight plan.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining,by the processor, whether a revision to the current state is permissiblebased on one or more thresholds; and outputting a prompt on the userinterface that indicates a corrective action based on the determining 8.The method of claim 1, wherein outputting the user interface furthercomprises outputting a diverging indicator that graphically illustratesthe divergence of the current state in proximity to a flight planindicator that graphically illustrates the selected flight plan.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, wherein, based on the determination that the vehicleis outside of the vertical profile, the determining the current state ofthe vehicle further comprises: determining a current speed of thevehicle based on the sensor data.
 10. (canceled)
 11. A system thatdisplays a current state and a future state of a vehicle on a displayassociated with the vehicle, the system comprising: a source of a flightplan data for a selected flight plan and a plurality of legs associatedwith the selected flight plan; a control module having a processor that:determines whether the vehicle is within a vertical profile associatedwith one of the plurality of legs of the selected flight plan based onsensor data generated by one or more sensors associated with thevehicle; based on the determination that the vehicle is within thevertical profile, determines a current state of the vehicle with respectto one of the plurality of legs of the selected flight plan based on thesensor data; determines a current target state for the vehicle withrespect to one of the plurality of legs of the selected flight planbased on the flight plan data; determines a divergence of the currentstate based on a difference between the current state and the currenttarget state; determines at least one corrective action based on thedetermination of the divergence; and generates a user interface fordisplay on the display that illustrates the divergence of the currentstate with respect to the one of the plurality of legs of the selectedflight plan, outputs a prompt on the user interface for the at least onecorrective action and the generated user interface includes an actionindicator that indicates a resultant path of the vehicle based on theexecution of the at least one corrective action in the prompt; and adisplay that displays the generated user interface.
 12. The system ofclaim 11, wherein the processor of the control module determines afuture state of the vehicle with respect to a second one of theplurality of legs of the selected flight plan based on the determinedcurrent state, and determines a future target state for the vehicle withrespect to the second one of the plurality of legs based on the flightplan data.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the processor of thecontrol module determines one of a convergence of the future state basedon the future state matching the future target state or a divergence ofthe future state based on a difference between the future state and thefuture target state.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the processorof the control module outputs a convergence indicator or a divergenceindicator on the user interface for display on the display thatgraphically illustrates the convergence or divergence, respectively, ofthe future state.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the convergence ofthe future state is superimposed on a flight plan indicator thatgraphically illustrates the selected flight plan.
 16. The system ofclaim 11, wherein the processor of the control module determines aconvergence of the current state based on the current state matching thecurrent target state, and outputs the user interface for display on thedisplay with a convergence indicator that graphically illustrates theconvergence of the current state with respect to the one of theplurality of legs of the selected flight plan.
 17. The system of claim11, wherein the divergence of the current state is illustrated by adivergence indicator positioned in proximity to a flight plan indicatorthat graphically illustrates the selected flight plan.
 18. A method fordisplaying a current state and a future state of a vehicle on a displayassociated with the vehicle, the method comprising: receiving flightplan data for a selected flight plan and one or more legs associatedwith the selected flight plan from a source of flight plan data, the oneor more legs including a current leg and at least one future leg;determining, by the processor, whether the vehicle is within a verticalprofile associated with one of the plurality of legs of the selectedflight plan based on sensor data generated by one or more sensorsassociated with the vehicle; based on the determining that the vehicleis within the vertical profile, determining, by the processor, a currentpath of the vehicle with respect to the current leg based on the sensordata; determining, by the processor, a current target path for thevehicle with respect to the current leg based on the flight plan data;determining, by the processor, a future path of the vehicle with respectto the at least one future leg based on the determined current path;determining, by the processor, a future target path for the vehicle withrespect to the at least one future leg based on the flight plan data;determining, by the processor, one of a convergence of the current pathbased on the current path matching the current target path or adivergence of the current path based on a difference between the currentpath and the current target path; determining, by the processor, one ofa convergence of the future path based on the future path matching thefuture target path or a divergence of the future path based on adifference between the future path and the future target path; andgenerating, by the processor, a user interface for display on thedisplay that indicates: the convergence or divergence of the currentpath; and the convergence or divergence of the future path; displayingthe generated user interface on the display, wherein based ondetermining that the vehicle is outside of the vertical profile, themethod comprises, determining, by the processor, a current speed of thevehicle with respect to the one of the plurality of legs of the selectedflight plan based on the sensor data, a target speed for the vehiclewith respect to the one of the plurality of legs of the selected flightplan based on the flight plan data and determining a divergence of thecurrent speed based on a difference between the current speed and thetarget speed.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein generating, by theprocessor, the user interface further comprises outputting thedivergence of the current path and the divergence of the future path asa diverging indicator in proximity to a flight plan indicator thatgraphically illustrates the selected flight plan on the user interface.20. The method of claim 18, further comprising determining, by theprocessor, the convergence or the divergence of the current path basedon receipt of an input to activate an autopilot system.